Eyes To See (Not Continuing)

Secrets And Seekers

(Reference made above is from the kids show Huntik. It explains what will happen in this chapter, and is a cute reference. If you have any problems with the title please private message me and I will make note to change the title.)

~Balance~

My best friend screams my name and I almost faint. She is here. She is alive. I will indeed she her again.

About ten minutes after I started my Balance course at work, I received an urgent message on my me-tablet. I hear back in the day they were called IPads, but that is irrelevant. The message informed me that war had broken loose, and that residents were to stay inside their homes to avoid direct fire. I was a little smarter than that. I knew that ALL citizens were not permitted to be inside their homes at this hour, so houses would only be skimmed. That meant hope of being missed, and escaping whatever war had in store. My apartment was the destination.

In my class, I taught 14 new devotees. Out of all of them, only 4 decided to follow me in my mission for hope. They were convinced I would be shot down. I believed in myself, and so did the Kindness twins, Mrs. Sweenie of Wisdom, and Samantha de Royal- Love. Now, if I were to look behind me, only the twins would remain. Sweenie and Royal were content on taking a shortcut. I haven't seen them since they left...

Juliana takes my embrace, and I let my worries fade for a quick moment. "So good to see you." I make out.

"I know." She breaks from her rapid breathing pattern. That is when I see it: the fountain centrepiece. The pole where the water is escaping from is spiralling downward. It left a hole in the fountain with edges to keep the rest of the water from falling through.

"Ju, turn around." I utter, and she does. Her jaw mirrors mine.

"Oh. My. Balance." She is the first one in the water, walking to the middle to see what the aftermath was. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me, but no, everyone saw it too. A ladder leading down the tunnel where the pole went down. "What do you think is down there?" She asks.

"Somewhere to hide." I smirk. I love secrets that jump at you in perfect times. "After you."

"No, I insist, after you." Juliana, I love her, but can't stand her sometimes. She is too witty.

I shake my head and hop onto the ladder in a smooth motion. Time to have fun.

"Don't come down until I give you the okay. We will go two at a time, so we can hurry and keep the ladder in one piece. Old, dusty ladders don't normally last too many uses." With that note, I begin my adventure.

About halfway down the tunnel, I hear a buy shout; "My love, you have awoken!" I almost fell off the ladder laughing. There is no such thing as love.

"Get away from me!" Follows the statement. No such thing, I told you.

I have tune out the shouts from above, and focus on what is bellow. I count four more ladder rungs, and then I place my foot on a floor at the bottom. This is what appears to be a room.

"Welcome. I am awaiting your handprint to activate the lights." A computer speaks. Female. There is a panel glowing purple at the other end of the room. I slowly walk towards the panel, with a place for my hand smack dab in the middle. "Do not be afraid, I am not here to hurt you. I am a highly programmed device made to protect this safe house."

"Safe house." I speak. "Come on down, guys!"

If it is a hand the computer wants, it is a hand they will get.

Lights flicker.

"Awaiting command to close the passage. When you are ready, press the 'close' button on my screen." I am speechless. After all I have been through, I finally have protection. "If you would like, you may take a look around this state of the art facility. It is yours now."

All I can do is remain put, and marvel at the beauty of what has come alive before me. I'm in a large cafeteria, one like at school. This one is decorated in all four colours.

I hear a grunt, and I whip around at the ladder to see one that of the twins had fallen on the jump down. Talia was her name, and she had her brother's brown hair. She was forced along with her brother to convert to the Balance to survive the poverty of the City Of Kindness. Kindness is no where to be seen, so worshipers are stuck living poor.

"What is his place?" She questions, but I do not hold the full answer. A shrug should do, for the computer can explain this far better than I.

Next to come down is Toby, his blue eyes almost starstruck. That's when I think it again; dang. This guy has beauty on his side. "Ember, you guys okay?"

"Yeah, just fine." I do not want to show weakness. That is when I realize that I should have said I was better than that, we just found a safe house!

"Ok." While giving an answer to my statement, Toby looks me dead in the eye. Then I'm frozen in the moment, trapped in time. I reflect a painting, an image captured and frozen forever by an artist strictly wanted to remember her time.

I watch as an assembly line of people flows down the ladder, until I see Juliana. She gives me a nod, as if to say, "That's all". I command the passage to seal, and take a seat at one of the cafe tables.

"What now?" I ask, sure that everyone else could question the same thing. The answer was; nobody knew what to do now.